Join the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences for an enlightening and immersive Neuroarchitecture Book Seminar featuring acclaimed authors who will be presenting their latest works in the hybrid field of Neuroarchitecture and sharing profound insights into their scientific journeys.

Whether you’re an academic, a professional seeking inspiration, or simply curious about these remarkable books, this seminar is your chance to delve into the minds of these visionaries.

This seminar promises to be an enriching experience for (landscape) architects, urban planners, researchers, and anyone passionate about making a better built environment to promote well-being. Don’t miss the opportunity to engage with these esteemed authors as they share their stories, insights, and the inspirations behind their compelling research works.

Programme overview:

Frank Suurenbroek and Gideon Spanjar – “Neuroarchitecture: Designing High-rise Cities at Eye-level” Book Launch:

• This book explores the insights offered by the new hybrid field of neuroarchitecture. Using state-of-the-art technology, researchers in this field are able to track minutely how the body responds to impulses from the built environment. Neuroarchitecture introduces the field and shows best practices of streetscapes in Western cities, such as Amsterdam, Toronto, Manchester and Oslo. Each location is analyzed in depth, using a research-through-design method.
• What do the existing urban fabric studies teach us? What patterns can be observed and experienced visually? Neuroarchitecture questions design guidelines and gives practical tools to improve the human-scale attributes of high-density built environments.

Featured other speakers and books:

Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo: Presenting “Neuroscience for Designing Green Spaces: Contemplative Landscapes”:

• Can we objectively measure their impact on mental health and well-being? If so, how do we use this evidence to guide the design of mentally healthy cities? The Contemplative Landscape Model unveils the path to answer these questions. Rooted in landscape architecture and neuroscience, this innovative concept is described for the first time in an extended format, offering a deep dive into contemplative design and the science behind it.

Davide Ruzzon showcasing “Tuning Architecture with Humans: Neuroscience Applied to Architectural Design”:

• Discover how the beginnings of architecture were coupled with kinematic patterns formerly associated with natural settings and explore how the human sciences can contribute to more human-centered approaches to architecture, urbanism, and landscape design.

Ann Sussman & Justin B. Hollander: Unveiling “Cognitive Architecture: Designing for How We Respond to the Built Environment”:

• Reveals new findings in psychology and neuroscience to help architects and planners better understand their clients as the sophisticated mammals they are, arriving in the world with built-in responses to the environment. Discussing key biometric tools to help designers ‘see’ subliminal human behaviors and suggesting new ways to analyze designs before they are built.
• Demonstrates how mobile eye tracking can be used to allow researchers insight into the processing of environmental data by our central nervous systems. As a result we can determine precisely which stimuli cause arousal or draw our attention.